Deathstroke: Battle in the Arrow Cave
by mjf2468
Summary: What if Slade brought more torture and angst to Oliver and the team than the show delivered? What if the fight in the cave with Slade versus Team Arrow in episode 18 went a different way with Slade capturing/torturing them instead? AU after episode 18. Now multi-chapter. A different take from the TV show on how Slade takes revenge upon Oliver, with hints of Olicity throughout.
1. Chapter 1: Battle Royale

Summary: What if the fight in the cave with Slade versus Team Arrow in episode 19 went a different way? What if Slade's intention was to capture/torture them? a slightly AU version of the Team Arrow encounter with Slade in the lair.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters owned by CW, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

AN: What if Slade really did more harm than he actually did on the show while he was in the lair in episode 19? I thought I would increase the danger level, spice it up, than what we saw on the show. No other changes to canon, except that this incident would occur after Moira dies.

It seemed like an ordinary day. Everything had been quiet, too quiet for Oliver's comfort. With Slade returning from the dead, promising revenge on everyone and everything in his life, Oliver was having difficulty not seeing threats around every corner and jumping at every shadow.

He entered Verdant, and noticed the rest of the team at the bar. He indicated with a nod that it was time to have a meeting to discuss strategy regarding Slade. Being a gentleman, he allowed Felicity to precede him down the stairs. Diggle and Sara followed. The words "We have to come up with a plan to outthink Slade. We do not know how or when he will attack next" were barely out of Oliver's mouth when they heard an unfamiliar voice in their lair.

"Welcome home, Kid. Nice digs."

The four of them froze, halfway down the steps. No one moved. No one spoke. And then they saw him. Deathstroke. His armor glinting off the light in scary ways. The two-toned mask he wore only enhanced the deadly image he portrayed.

Oliver reacted instantly. He grabbed Felicity and jumped with her over the banister to the floor below. As bullets flew at them, he pulled her behind him as he crouched below the stairs. Sara and Diggle crouched into defensive positions and raced down the stairs. Sara headed to the back of the lair while Diggle went to the light switch. He shut off the lights, throwing the lair into semi-darkness, the mid-afternoon sun coming in through the small amount of windows that lined the western wall.

Sara took advantage of the semi-darkness and ran behind the salmon ladder, climbed it, and used it as a launching pad. She flung herself at Slade, bo-staff in her hand, ready to fight. However, Slade caught Sara mid-flight by her neck, gave her a look of disdain, and then tossed her away like a rag doll. The sound of her wrist snapping like a twig ricocheted throughout the lair along with Sara's cry. Sara laid still, unmoving.

Slade then turned his attention to Digg, who approached Slade in military stance, shooting at Slade. Digg's bullets, however, didn't seem to affect Slade in the slightest. Suddenly, the gun was out of bullets, and Digg threw the gun aside and threw himself at Slade. Slade, however, batted Digg aside as if he were a mosquito into the glass display case. Shards of glass flew everywhere. Digg laid still, unmoving.

Oliver exchanged glances with Felicity, who nodded as he left the space below the stairs, with one last touch on his back from her. His bow across the room, Oliver's only available weapon were two escrima sticks lying on a nearby table. He grabbed them and approached Slade to engage him in a flurry of weapons, meeting each of Slade's strikes with the sticks. It was difficult to see who was getting the upper hand, but suddenly Slade's blade sliced into Oliver's side. He fell to the ground, with an uncharacteristic cry of pain escaping his lips.

Slade delivered one more blow to the back of Oliver's head, knocking him out. "Don't forget who taught you how to fight, kid."

Slade straightened and looked around the room, observing the damage he'd wrought as he sheathed his blades. None of the Arrow team moved. Slade looked down at Oliver and made sure he was still unconscious. He then looked up the stairs and called out, "Okay, you men can come down now."

Felicity watched in horror as four more men, dressed similarly to Slade, walked down the steps. They approached each member of Team Arrow in pairs and dragged them to the chairs. Slade handed them rope, and they proceeded to tie them all to the chairs, binding their wrists to the armrests, their ankles to the chair legs.

Just as she unfroze enough to debate attempting to run up the stairs and get away, Slade then turned to look at Felicity. "Well, my dear, are you going to give me added pleasure and make this difficult, or will you please join your friends over here without a fight?"

Felicity knew that she should attempt to make a show, at least, of defending her team. Realistically, though, what could she do? She had no weapon, and with the mirakuru in him, Slade was an unbeatable opponent. Neither could she outrun him; she would probably only get a few steps up the stairs before he would catch her. Tamping down her fear, she walked towards Slade, head high, attempting to hold onto any defiance that she could.

As she approached him, Slade grabbed her wrist and yanked her forcibly the few remaining feet towards him and into the remaining chair. How ironic, Felicity thought, it was her chair she was being tied to. _Of course I would think such unnecessary thoughts at this time. _Slade tied her wrists to the armrests of the chair. After doing that, Slade looked speculatively at Felicity's feet, rope in hand, took in her three-inch heels that she was especially proud of, shrugged and walked away.

Felicity looked at her teammates. Looking at their feet, she observed that all of their ankles were bound, their wrists bound to the chairs like hers. Except for Oliver, who also had rope tied around his torso. She was concerned for all of them, wondering how seriously they were injured. Wondered if they would regain consciousness, as a chill went down her spine. Wondering if it would really make a difference, with whatever Slade had in mind for them. She seriously questioned whether they would be surviving the next hour.

One of his men brought a bucket of water over to Slade. Before Felicity could object having water near her computers, Slade dumped it over Oliver. Oliver regained consciousness with that, and struggled against his bonds, with a small cry of pain.

"Welcome back, Kid. I thought we should have a talk before I take my leave."

Oliver looked around frantically, taking in the unconscious forms of Sara and Diggle next to him. His eyes then met Felicity's, who attempted to hide her fear from him. He nodded slightly to her, and returned his attention to Slade.

"What do you want, Slade?"

"Besides fulfilling my promise to you? I have only just begun." He walked towards Felicity, with a small blade drawn. He stood behind her, and rested the knife against her collarbone. Felicity stiffened, afraid to breath or move in case it would not end good. She looked at Oliver, silently begging him not to react.

Through gritted teeth, Oliver said, "Slade, don't you dare hurt her."

"I will do whatever I want to. I am in control at this moment, aren't I?"

A shiver went down Oliver's back. He tested his bonds again. No give. No chance in  
>getting out of them in a second's time to prevent a knife to her throat should Slade decide to run her through. Just like his mother. Even though there was not much he could do, all of his instincts were on high alert.<p>

"Besides threatening me and my team, what else do you want to accomplish _at this time_?" Oliver got out through gritted teeth.

Slade turned, taking the knife away. Felicity breathed out, in relief, and watched as Slade made a show of walking back and forth in front of Oliver. He bounced the flat end of the blade against his chin, as though he was deep in thought.

Oliver attempted to control every one of his instincts as he waited for Slade to continue. He knew Slade was taking great pleasure in drawing out the threats. He had to play it right in order to prevent any further bloodshed. Or worse. He tested the chair's movement. The wheels worked, but were a little sluggish. Oliver wondered if that would be useful in any sort of fashion. He would just have to wait.

Sara chose this moment to begin to stir. Murmurs of pain accompanied her return to consciousness. She pulled against her bonds, and yelled in pain as she discovered that her wrist was broken.

"Oh, Sara, nice of you to join us. How fitting is it that you are here."

A new shiver of fear went down Oliver's spine as he wondered what Slade meant by that comment. He could not prevent looking at Felicity, wondering whether Slade would make him choose, again, between the lives of two women he loved. Slade smirked at Oliver, as if he could read the younger man's thoughts.

"Glad to give you so much pleasure, Slade. Now, what do you want with us?" Sara successfully hid her terror behind her challenging tone.

"As I was beginning to explain to your _hero_ here, it is time for me to extract more of my promise from him."

"Slade, do you hear how tedious you are, with whining about Shado? It was five years ago, and it wasn't really Oliver's fault…."

Slade pulled his fist back and punched Sara full in the jaw, knocking her and the chair over. Two of his men rushed over and pulled the chair back upright. Sara moved her jaw around, testing it, and was surprised to feel it not broken.

"Oh, I do not want you too broken, Sara. Not yet." Walking back to her, and grabbing her by the chin, he whispered, "but get this straight. _You_ do not get to say her name. **Ever**. Do you hear me?"

After holding her gaze for a minute, Slade allowed Sara to shrug her chin out of his hold. She glared at Slade full in the eye, but did not say anything. She was suddenly afraid of what to say that would not send the mad man into another frenzy. Sara felt it would be more prudent at the moment not to risk it, so she remained silent.

Slade walked back over to Oliver. "Just to make it clear, _Oliver_, I own you. I have you, and I can take anything I want from you from this point onward." Pointing to Sara and then to Felicity, he continued. "I have half my mind to take one of your women back with me. Or both of them." Oliver bit back a gasp, and Felicity stifled a cry. "Here I thought it was one of the Lance sisters who holds your heart. Imagine my surprise when you saved this one," pointing to Felicity, "from the Count."

"You were the one he was referring to? The one who was funding him?"

"Yes, he was to be another distraction. And it worked out even better than I had expected. It revealed that instead of this one," pointing to Sara with a sneer on his face, "your love is this one instead." Slade walked over to Felicity and began to play with her messy ponytail. Oliver could see Felicity begin to fight the instinct to hyperventilate.

"You leave her alone!" Carried by the momentum of attempting to get out of his bonds, Oliver fell face forward, remaining attached to the office chair.

Slade sniffed in disgust, and nodded to two of his men, who lifted the chair back into an upright position.

"Tsk, tsk, Oliver. Such a temper." Returning Oliver's glare with a raised eyebrow, he continued. "Now that we all understand each other, that I have _all_ of your lives in my hands at this moment…..I shall take my leave." Turning to fix his gaze on Oliver, who had been attempting to loosen his bonds while Slade's attention was not on him, he continued. "But remember, I will be back to finish my promise." He walked over to Felicity and slowly cupped her cheek. Felicity pulled away from his dreaded caress. "She is rather lovely, your Felicity."

Slade then casually dropped his arm, turned away from Felicity, and walked over to the stairs, Over his shoulder, Slade said, "I shall see you again soon, _kid_." His four men followed, and the noise of their boots as they left in military style echoed in the silence of the lair.

Oliver, in his fear and rage, did not realize that Slade had dropped his knife into Felicity's lap. She, meanwhile, was frozen in place, afraid to breath again when Slade was clearly making a threat towards her. How could he mean that she was the one he would kill? Or that Oliver loved her instead either Lance? How was that even thinkable?

She looked down in her lap, and realized that Slade had dropped his knife into her lap. She carefully rolled her chair towards Oliver, making sure the knife stayed in her lap.

"Slade left his knife. Can you reach it so we can get out of these ropes?"

Felicity carefully lined her chair up to Oliver, next to his right hand, and attempted to raise her lap so that Oliver could grab the knife. It took some manipulation, but Oliver was able to reach out and grab the knife just as it was about to slide off her lap. He then sliced the bonds of her right hand. She then took the knife and freed Oliver. She then carefully cut Sara's left hand bond, then her right hand, as Oliver went to check on Diggle.

Sara carefully rolled her wrist and arm. "Yep, I think it is definitely broken. Good job, Slade."

"Anything else, Sara? You hit your head very hard, I was worried about you," Felicity said.

"I think so. Maybe I will have them do a cat scan at the hospital anyway, just in case. It would fit the cover story better, anyway, a motorcycle accident. Right, Oliver?"

Oliver rolled his eyes, as he had gone over to check on Diggle. He had found another knife and cut Digg's bonds.

Diggle began to moan at that, which Oliver was thankful for. Him being quiet for so long was beginning to worry him. "Hey, buddy, are you okay?"

"I am not sure." Diggle held his head between his hands and stifled a groan as his head ached in an unrelenting rhythm.

"In answer to your question, Sara, I think we should take both you and Diggle to the hospital with the story of a MVA. That would cover both of your injuries."

Sara looked at Oliver. "Oliver, I think you should get looked at, too, while we are there."

Oliver was about to disagree, when he met Felicity's glare. He nodded, and they got into their car and went to the hospital in silence.

**AN: what did you think? Please leave me a review! Felicity will give you virtual mint chocolate ice cream if you do!**


	2. Chapter 2: Aftermath

Summary: What if the fight in the cave with Slade versus Team Arrow in episode 18 went a different way? What if Slade's intention was to capture/torture them? AU after episode 18. Now multi-chapter. A different take on how Slade takes revenge upon Oliver.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters owned by CW, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**AN: Thank you for all the views, reviews, favs and alerts! You guys are awesome! Hope you like this new chapter. I originally was not planning to make this a muti-chapter story. But because of all your encouragement, the Muse has spoken. And here we go! By the way, this story is now going to be totally AU from episode 18 onwards, except for inserting the bit about Slade killing Moira to have happened before episode 18, instead of after.**

Four of them left for the hospital, three returned.

Diggle was ordered to stay in the hospital overnight for observation. The doctor expressed concern about the length of time he had been unconscious and wanted to make sure no complications developed. Sara, her wrist in a cast, was otherwise cleared. Her concussion, on the other hand, was only mild. She insisted on returning to the lair with Felicity and Oliver to assist in clean up.

As Sara reminded Oliver, and he agreed, it was imperative to check out the lair as soon as possible for any surprises Slade may have left behind. Oliver agreed with the logic of this, and reluctantly agreed to have Sara help because they needed all the assistance they could get. The last thing they needed was something left behind causing them problems, courtesy of Slade.

"I want everything checked to see whether Slade took anything, or sabotaged anything. We need to know whether he had any other objectives besides terrorizing us in his visit."

Sara sighed, "You mean, besides being just one big, sick bully?" she asked while checking through the weapons cabinet.

Felicity rolled her eyes. Leave it to Sara to brush off a mind-blowing attack from a certifiable maniac as something as innocuous a threat from a playground bully. She, on the other hand, was fighting total mind-numbing fear. Body-paralyzing terror. Worse than watching Nightmare on Elm Street in the dark by herself on Friday the 13th without any ice cream fear. The type of fear that living through the earthquake machine did not even come close to.

She had been quiet for most of the time at the hospital and the ride back to the lair. Upon their return, she went straight over to her computers and began to check for any evidence of physical damage or hacking. Suddenly she could not keep it in any longer. She swung herself in her chair, faced Oliver, and directed her confusion to the man in question.

"Oliver, why didn't Slade do worse? Not that I would want him to, but he did have us all at his mercy. He could have killed all of us right then and there. He even acted like he was going to. One slip," she made a throat-slashing gesture across her throat, "and I would have been in serious trouble." Felicity stopped herself in mid-babble.

Oliver stopped his review of the medical supplies. He gave Felicity a soul-revealing look. "He wants to play games with me, to add to the torture." Looking down, he continued. "Sorry you are caught in the middle of this. I never wanted that." Then, as almost a second thought, he looked at Sara and added, "Neither of you should have been involved."

Sara walked over to Oliver, placing her hands upon his biceps. "Ollie, you know this is not your fault, right?" As she attempted to look into his eyes, Oliver managed to avoid her gaze and looked down at his feet.

"Yeah, none of this is. _Right_. My mother dead, Slade threatening you and Felicity, Diggle hurt….how is this _not _my fault? He would not be doing any of this, threatening my family, my business, _you_, if it weren't for me_. _I was so scared he was going to do that stupid choice thing again using you and Felicity this time."

"I know, but we all are okay. We will be okay, Ollie. We will defeat Slade. Together."

Felicity watched the interaction of the two fighters. They were made to be together. Weren't they? It did not sound like they were the right couple 'before the island', but now? They were both trained fighters, they both survived their own crucibles. They knew each other's dark secrets. They were meant to be together. Right?

So what was Slade talking about that she, Felicity, was the one he loved? Guess she was not the only one who thought it was so unthinkable. The other two in the room had not even mentioned it. And now it was almost like she wasn't even there. Oliver had not even questioned Felicity's uncharacteristic silence. In the past, before Sara, he would have asked her right away what was wrong.

"We just got you back, Sara. I can't lose you again. And your father, he probably won't survive losing you again…."

"I'm not that easy to kill. Remember?" she asked with a wry smile.

Oliver would have rolled his eyes, but he was so tense he could not think of anything but the terror he felt when Slade threatened to take them both away. When he had the knife to Felicity's throat. He shook his head, needing to get some perspective. Who would have thought that Slade could be so good at psychological warfare? Slade may have taught Oliver how to fight on the island, but unfortunately none of those lessons included the art of psychological warfare.

"Ollie, you cannot let him get in your head. We will get through this, remember? As a team, we are pretty incredible." Sara cupped Oliver's cheek and brought his forehead to rest on hers.

Looking into her green eyes, Oliver took comfort in her confidence. "Yes, I know. It's just that he has been several steps ahead of us at every turn."

"We _will _figure it out. You beat Slade once, you will again."

Oliver gave her a half-hearted smile, patted her arm, and walked to the back of the lair. Sara returned to her inventory of the weapons, and Felicity turned her attention back to the computers. Felicity sighed. She again felt somewhat shut out, but she decided to push down those feelings. It was not the right time to think about it. Later, with Dr. Who and mint chocolate chip ice cream, she will process her feelings away for a certain gorgeous but clueless vigilante.

They were able to inventory the entire cave and clean up the mess left from the onslaught within a few hours. Nothing else was amiss. Oliver then declared that they all needed to get some rest. Sara left to spend the rest of the evening at her sister's, because Oliver did have his worries about Laurel's safety as well. They had discussed how to broach the idea of safety with her father, since Oliver wondered if Slade's revenge would extend that far. Sara vetoed the idea, because they could not come up with any credible idea as to why he should sleep overnight at Laurel's.

Regarding Diggle, Oliver had called to check on him, and spoke to the man himself. Oliver was comforted by the fact that Diggle was restless and not liking the fact of staying in the hospital. Oliver knew that meant that Diggle was indeed getting better. Oliver suggested obtaining a police guard, but Diggle ruled that out. He stated that Lyla was going to spend the night at the hospital with him, over his objections, and that should be all that was necessary for his safety.

That left Felicity. Oliver was about to suggest that she spend the night at the mansion with him when she turned around and gave him _that look. _The look that says, _I know what you are thinking, and the answer is no. _"Oliver, I know what you are thinking, and the answer is no. I am sleeping at my own place tonight, and you do not have to stay with me either. If Slade is going to get me, he will find a way. But I think we will all be safe."

So he left her thinking that he agreed with her. Unknown to Felicity, however, Oliver spent the rest of the night on the roof of the building across from her house, keeping watch. He would not have been able to sleep anyway, so he made sure his IT girl was safe.

The next morning, Felicity woke up to her phone screaming. She had indeed put her plan to "process" her feelings into action the evening before, but only watched a little bit of Dr. Who on her bedroom TV before she fell asleep in her bed. She now looked at the time. It was Saturday, the only day of the week she usually got to sleep in. And especially considering how nerve-wracking yesterday was, she needed her sleep. It was Oliver. _Seven freaking AM. What is he thinking?_

"Any chance you have talked to Digg this morning?" Oliver asked, without a preamble.

Felicity shook her head, trying to get whatever cobwebs still left in there. "What? Why? He's at the hospital…." A cold shiver went down her back. "Isn't he?"

"No, he isn't. I went over there first thing, to find out that he had disappeared some time last night." 

**AN: Oh no, a cliffhanger. Sorry for the shorter chapter, but it felt like a good place to stop. evil laugh What is Slade up to now? Let me know what you think of this chapter. I hope it holds up to the promise of the first chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Hopefully I will update quicker with the next chapter. I got most of the story written now. **


	3. Chapter 3: Where is Diggle?

Summary: What if the fight in the cave with Slade versus Team Arrow in episode 18 went a different way? What if Slade's intention was to capture/torture them? AU after episode 18. Now multi-chapter. A different take on how Slade takes revenge upon Oliver.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters owned by CW, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**AN: Thank you to all the reviews, favs and likes! Including the guest reviews. Love you all!**

"What? What? Didn't Lyla stay the night with him? Oh, no, don't tell me she was taken too? Or harmed? Oh no….."

Oliver stopped her babble. "No, she was there for the evening, but Digg bugged her enough he finally convinced her to go home and sleep in a regular bed, since she is pregnant."

"So, what does Lyla say? She has not heard from him?"

"No, the hospital has no idea what happened. She hasn't heard from him either. He was last seen on 4am rounds, he had been having an uneventful night. His neuros were within normal limits, no damage from the concussion noted. The staff deny seeing anything out of the ordinary. They waited to call Lyla until 6 am to check whether he had gone home against medical advice."

"How…what? Has anyone checked the security cameras?" Felicity cried out, as she struggled to get out of her sheets and grabbed her tablet. She quickly hacked into the hospital security tapes to find out what she could.

"Oliver, why would Slade wait to take him from the hospital? He could have taken any of us last night. It doesn't make any sense."

"Again, to keep us uncentered. Unfocused. I don't know." Felicity could hear the despair in Oliver's voice.

"I am almost at your house now. Put some clothes on and we will figure this out. But I want you in my eyesight at all times until we take care of Slade."

"Oliver, that is just ridiculous. He can strike anytime, anywhere. He found our lair. Nothing is secure."

"I don't care. You will not be alone. So hurry up, get dressed and grab some things you will need for the next several days. I think we should all bunker at the mansion."

"Now that is just even more ridiculous."

"No, we can strengthen security there, and there is enough room for all of us. We can set up some computers, and we will have Thea and Roy there as well." He hung up on her.

Felicity rolled her eyes. That man was just so infuriatingly stubborn. She got up and started throwing things together. She made sure she had at least five outfits, her electronics and extra chargers. Grabbing a small suitcase, she threw everything in and closed it quickly.

Her tablet then pinged. She gathered all her bags and purse, and brought them into her living room to wait for Mr. Grumpy Pants. She then turned her attention to her tablet. Bringing up the footage, she watched in horror as Slade had blatantly walked into Diggle's room with a wheelchair and five minutes later walked out pushing Diggle in the chair. Diggle was obviously unconscious, but unharmed.

Felicity's fingers flew across the keyboard as she pulled up security footage from the building across from the hospital. An undescript black van pulled up to the side of the hospital, and Diggle was then thrown in the back of the van. Felicity then followed the van all the way to a building on the other side of the Glades, where the men with Slade got out of the van and dragged Diggle into the building.

A knock on the door interrupted Felicity's thoughts. She opened the door without looking through the keyhole.

"What are you doing, Felicity? You did not look first," Oliver reprimanded her.

"I know where Digg is." Felicity interrupted his tirade with what she had found.

Oliver gritted his teeth and grabbed the back of his neck. "It seems a little too easy to me. Usually, Slade would not allow us to find him on the first try."

"What else can we do? Can we really take the chance that it is really just a trap and not rescue Diggle?"

Oliver sighed. "I guess not. But while I go, you need to stay at the mansion. I have extra security watching Thea."

"Do I have to use my loud voice, Oliver? No. I will not hide while Digg is out there somewhere. You need me on the comms helping you. With Sara to watch me, we will be safe."

"But Slade knows where the lair is."

"He also knows where the mansion is."

They glared at each other for a minute. Oliver conceded finally, knowing that she was right. Like she usually was.

~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~OQ~FS

Consciousness slowly had returned for Diggle, but was accompanied with discomfort in his arms. As awareness slowly returned, he realized that for some reason his arms were extended over his head. He finally got his eyelids to stay open. He looked to his right, then his left, and saw his wrists enclosed in iron manacles, connected to chains secured to a cement wall. He was sitting against the cold cement wall, with a heavy door facing him.

The door then opened, and Slade walked in, accompanied by two men behind him. "Glad you are finally awake, Mr. Diggle. Sure hope the medical experts are correct and that you did not suffer any lasting effects from my visit yesterday. I would hate for you to be damaged in any way."

"Don't pretend you care, Slade."

"Oh, I do apologize I have to involve you in this game between Oliver and I. However, it is your own fault for being involved with the misguided fool in the first place."

"You are the fool. And sick. Why did you take me from the hospital when you could have just taken me with you last night?"

"Oh, but what would be the fun in that? This is to let the Kid know that he and his followers are not safe _anywhere_."

"Why me?"

"Why not you? The opportunity presented itself. I really would have preferred it to be Sara who had ended up in the hospital. But that could easily be remedied. You never know." Slade looked Diggle right in the eye and rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to wipe that smug grin off her face. She has not stopped being irritating since the first time I met her."

"You do realize the island was five years ago, right?"

Diggle got a blow to the jaw for that comment. His headache had been tolerable until that moment. He thought fleetingly that maybe it would be a smart idea to watch his smart comments.

"And _I _am finding it tedious that all you guys do is remind me of that. It does not matter. Revenge does not have time limitations."

"According to whom?"

"The only person that matters at the moment," Slade gave Diggle a huge grin. "Me."

Diggle rolled his eyes, but chose not to answer. He really did not want to get punched in the head again. It was not worth it. He had to watch himself around this madman.

Slade looked at his watch. "You need to excuse me, Mr. Diggle. I now have to get ready for the third act in this little play we have here. Don't worry, you will not be alone here for very much longer." Turning around smartly, he left, taking pleasure in the small intake of breath he heard coming from Digg.

Diggle bit back the question he had almost asked. He refused to give the madman any more satisfaction than he can help. Digg could not help thinking of the possible sick scenarios that Slade may have in mind for the rest of the Arrow team.

~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~OQ~FS

Oliver approached the building, Felicity in his ear.

"Okay, there are two men up ahead," Felicity informed Oliver as she watched as two people showed up on the screen. She was intent on keeping an eye on all her screens, to keep Oliver safe.

Sara paced back and forth behind Felicity, keeping all of her senses aware. At least she thought she was aware. A large man, surprisingly lithe for such a bulky man, snuck up on her from the shadows and knocked her out with a blow to the head. Another man snuck up behind Felicity, a rag in his hands.

Across town, Oliver took care of the two men easily, leaving them unconscious.

"Felicity, what's next?" Silence. "Felicity?" Oliver took out the comm and checked to see whether the appliance was working. It was.

A chill went down his spine. He quickly looked around him, and wondered what he should do. He suddenly felt as though the world had shifted.

Before he could react, another voice came through the comm.

"Are you concerned yet, Oliver?" a familiar Australian growl came over the comms.

Every muscle in Oliver's body clenched. He should have known. Why had he not known? But known what? He had suspected this was some sort of trap, but he thought it would be a trap for him. Not for the women. Sara and Felicity were to be safe in the lair.

"I suppose Diggle is not really here in this building."

"You suppose correctly, kid. And now, your IT expert and I are riding towards an unknown location to actually join Mr. Diggle."

_He mentioned Felicity. But what about Sara…_"What about Sara?"

"Oh, I decided to leave her behind in the lair."

The breath left Oliver's body. _She has to be okay. She has to be. _

"Don't worry, Kid. I only knocked her out. This time."

Oliver couldn't help the exhale of air that escaped him. "I take it Diggle and Felicity are also both currently alive?" he asked despite himself.

"Yes, I would not take away the pleasure of watching them die in front of you." A small laugh. "Not yet."

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose trying to stave off the pressure in his head. "What now, Slade?"

"What? No witty repartee? I am disappointed."

"Slade, I want to end this _now. _You and me. No one else."

"It is cute how you keep saying that as if I will actually listen to you."

"So….are you going to let me swing in the wind while you torture me with waiting, or are you going to tell me where I need to go to meet you?"

"Who says I want you?"

Oliver walked to a waste basket and kicked it across the room. He was past the breaking point, attempting to keep it under control. Slade had him right where he wanted him, and he knew it. He did not want to let Slade know how much he was getting under his skin, but he could not hold it back any longer.

Slade laughed. "Getting to you, kid? You really need to work on that temper. Hope you did not break anything."

Oliver swallowed deeply. He took in another deep breath and let it out slowly and quietly. He attempted to center himself despite the waves of terror threatening to simply override all of his senses.

"Are you still there, Oliver?"

In a quiet voice, Oliver stated, "I am just tired, Slade. I don't know what else to say."

"Ah, you tired of my game already? And we have hardly begun." Slade stated. "Well, let me give you a rest. I'll call you back in an hour. Maybe you will have more to say then." The connection was then cut off.

**AN: Again, I apologize for the shorter chapters. This is my first multi-chapter story, so the Muse is kinda stingy I guess. And yes, another cliff-hanger. What will Slade do next? evil laugh**


	4. Chapter 4: The Kidnapping of Felicity

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters owned by CW, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

The sounds of a van bumping along the road woke Felicity. As she regained consciousness, she startled awake, almost falling forward. A burly arm came across her front, preventing her from falling into the front seat. As the arm gently pushed her backwards into the seat, she turned frightened eyes toward the man beside her. He was huge, his arms were even bigger than Diggle's. She then turned to her right, and saw another man sitting on that side of her. He was just as bulky as his colleague.

She then realized three things at once. Her wrists were tied behind her back, she was gagged, and Slade Wilson was sitting in the passenger seat. If she had not been gagged, her indignation with the situation would surely have found its way out of her mouth, her brain-to-mouth filter most likely failing, like usual. Which would not have probably been so smart, considering the danger she was in. _So maybe it was a good thing after all I can't talk._ She rolled her eyes at herself.

"Sir, she is waking up." one of the men informed Slade.

Slade turned around and smiled broadly at Felicity. "There you are! I wondered if I had given you too much chloroform. Unfortunately you missed my very interesting conversation with Oliver."

Fear for Oliver widened her eyes. Her last memory was talking to him on the comms. What had happened after that? Slade laughed at her reaction. "You probably wonder what happened to him. Maybe I should leave you in your wondering, hmm?" After a moment, he shrugged. "Oh well, I will tell you. It is not very interesting." He paused. "Nothing happened, actually." He paused again. "Not yet."

Felicity let out a sigh despite herself. She then had another thought, and her eyes widened again.

"No, Mr. Diggle was not there in the building. Don't worry, you will be able to see for yourself that he is currently unharmed. We are on our way to join him."

Felicity closed her eyes. She can only imagine what Oliver was going through. She then remembered Sara. How did Slade get the jump on Sara any how? She looked up at Slade once more.

"Oh yes, now you are wondering about poor Sara. Unfortunately, she should now definitely have a concussion. I almost brought her with us, but decided against it. I think I can have more fun with her later."

That information only gave Felicity minimal comfort. At least Sara was safe. For now. The more immediate question was: what was gong to happen to her and Diggle. She glared at Slade.

Slade winked at Felicity and turned back towards the front. Felicity spent the rest of the ride in silence, glaring at the back of the madman's head. When the car stopped, the two men escorted Felicity into a nondescript building. Felicity attempted to get any information about her surroundings, but the men successfully blocked her view of anything useful.

She was led through a short hallway, and downstairs to a basement room. There, chained to the wall, was her best friend, apparently relatively unharmed. Felicity breathed a sigh of relief. Slade's men brought her to the wall next to Diggle, untied her bonds, and placed the manacles around her wrists. The men then left the room.

Diggle had been sitting on the dirt floor of the cell, back against the cement wall, wondering what Slade's next move was going to be. He jumped to his feet when he heard footsteps, wanting to be as prepared as he could be for whatever would come next. His eyes widened when he observed Felicity bound and gagged brought into the room.

Slade observed Diggle's eyes checking Felicity out from head to toe. "Don't worry, Mr. Diggle. Even though she is tempting, I did not taste the merchandise." Smiling salaciously, he said, "I prefer my women consensual and willing, " and laughed at the disgusted noise that escaped Felicity's lips

Slade approached her. Felicity met his gaze straight in the eye, despite her shaking inside. Slade gave her another smirk, then ripped the tape off her mouth. "I suppose I can allow you to talk now."

"I am _so_ thankful," slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Slade patted her on the cheek. "I agree with Sara. You are _so _cute." He ignored her gasp and left the room.

Felicity turned frightened eyes to Diggle. "Does that mean he has been listening to us in the lair all this time? How does he know she has said that?"

Diggle shrugged helplessly. "At this point, nothing would surprise me."

"But I have always kept up our security measures….I guess that explains how he was able to sneak up on Sara and I."

"Felicity, none of this is your fault."

"I know, I guess." Felicity shook herself. Now was not the time for any self-recriminations. "Are you okay, Diggle? What has Slade been doing?"

"Yes, amazingly enough. Slade has only mainly bored me with his attempts at humor." Diggle looked at Felicity in concern. "And you? Did he harm you? What happened?"

"He nabbed me in the middle of my talking Oliver through what we thought was a mission to rescue you. He must have knocked Sara out and snatched me out of the lair."

"Oliver must be going absolutely nuts by now."

"Slade is dragging this out as much as he can, that is for sure. And Sara now has another concussion, two in twenty-four hours. I sure hope she is okay."

"I think we should worry more about us, in the immediate future, don't you think?" Diggle attempted some humor.

"Yeah, I am kinda worried about us right now, too."

Felicity could not help the shiver that went down her spine. She really did not know what to think about Slade. She only hoped that Oliver could come up with a plan to rescue them and not just turn himself over to Slade. However, knowing Oliver, Felicity doubted that he would not do exactly what Slade told him to do.

~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~

The only thing preventing Oliver from slamming the phone into the wall was that it was the only thing connecting him to his missing friends. _I better get going. First, I better look this place from top to bottom, just to make sure there is nothing helpful. Then I will make sure Sara is okay. _

Worry about Sara made him move quickly but thoroughly. He had scanned the room he was in while talking to Slade and found nothing. Proceeding with caution, just in case there were indeed more of Slade's men in the building, he covered ground quickly throughout the small building. Absolutely nothing. _I don't think Slade had ever been here._ Oliver rolled his eyes.

Mind spinning, Oliver left the building. Senses remaining aware, making sure he was not being followed, he got on his bike and made his way to the lair. On the way, through his Bluetooth, he tried Sara's phone. She picked up after the fourth ring. At first all he could here was a moan. "Sara, are you okay?"

"Oliver, I…" Sara slurred. "Wait a minute….what happened?"

"Slade was at the lair again, and apparently he took Felicity!"

Oliver heard Sara moving around. "I'm so sorry, Oliver. I…I don't know what happened. One minute I was beside Felicity and she was giving you directions, and the next thing I know, my phone is ringing and I am lying on the ground."

"He got the drop on us again. And he was never at the building he sent me to. I did not find one trace of him or Diggle ever being there."

"Oh, no, Oliver. I am sorry. Now what?"

"Supposedly, Slade is going to call me back in an hour. But I am taking you back to the hospital once I get back to the lair. I am almost there." He said in his _don't you dare argue with me_ tone.

Sara was not sure she was up to arguing with Oliver any way, but she still tried. "No, I am okay. It is just a bump on the head. I don't need to be checked out. You need my help finding Felicity and Digg."

"It is your second head bump within twenty-four hours. Plus you lost consciousness. No arguments; you're going to be checked out."

This time, when Sara was admitted for overnight observation, Oliver arranged for round-the-clock security. Sara attempted to argue with Oliver, but with one look from him, her protests died on her lips. Oliver gave her a kiss, told her to behave and listen to the nurses, and left for the lair. To wait.

And wait. Instead of an hour, it was actually two hours from the time Slade had hung up on Oliver for Slade to call again. Oliver had spent the time trying to trace the trackers that Digg and Felicity were supposed to have on their persons. Like he thought, it was a useless task. He tried to reactivate them, but without any luck.

Oliver tried to keep the panic from rising from his throat and choking his complete brain capacity as he waited. He could hardly bear thinking of what Slade could be doing to his two best friends. Diggle, being ex-military, would be better able to tolerate any torture Slade might dish out. Felicity, on the other hand….Oliver's blood ran cold thinking about all the possibilities. The only comfort he could give himself was that, knowing Slade's twisted thinking, Slade would hopefully wait to do anything harmful to them until Oliver was present. And then, hopefully, they would find a way to escape before anything could happen to any of them.

Attempting to distract himself while he waited, he reviewed possible battle strategy. Not much came to mind. Slade knew many of the tricks, due to his past. Oliver could hide such things as lock picks on his self, but knowing Slade, he would find them. Without knowing the address, he was unable to do any surveillance. He tried to not let the helplessness unnerve him, but it was becoming more difficult as time slowly passed.

Finally his cell phone rang. Oliver forced himself to wait for the second ring to answer.

"Kid, you still there?"

"Slade, do you have specific requests now, or are you going to continue to taunt me?"

"But it is just so much fun."

Oliver forced himself to remain silent. To wait Slade out.

"Are you still there, Oliver?"

"I decided to wait until you are done playing games, Slade."

"Okay, you are right. My demands? You need to meet me at this address I will give you." Oliver wrote down the address Slade gave him. Slade then continued. "Come alone. Not as if you have anyone else to bring with you, right, Kid?" Slade's cackle rang in Oliver's ears as the phone went dead.

Oliver gritted his teeth as he debated over letting Lance know of the situation. Normally, he would not drag the detective into something like this, but he decided he had no other option. Oliver placed the call, informing Lance of his plan. He asked Lance not to bring reinforcements unless he did not hear from them in two hours. Lance reluctantly agreed, bowing to the younger man's knowledge of the situation. Oliver then prepared for the meeting with Slade.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~

Oliver approached this building with trepidation. He was unsure as to how this was going to go down, but one way or another it was going to end. Here. Today. At first, Oliver did not see or hear anyone. He entered the building, and still did not see anyone. He sighed. He looked down the long hallway, and decided that it was time. He got to the end of the hallway, turned the corner, and then was grabbed by two large men, Slade's men filled with Mirakuru. He attempted to give some resistance, but the two men got in some good punches. Oliver decided to allow himself to be dragged down the stairs to the basement.

Another hallway, and they then entered a room with a solid oak door that had opened as they approached. As they entered, Oliver stopped squirming and attempted as much attitude as he could, hiding the fear that was inside of him. He hoped he would find his teammates okay. He gave a small sigh of relief when he saw Diggle and Felicity seemingly unharmed, chained to the wall of a cell. Slade was waiting next to the door, with a smile on his face.

Slade walked up to Oliver, swung back and hit him full on the jaw. Oliver brushed the punch aside and gave Slade one of his Felicity-named _Arrow glares_. "You got me now, Slade. Let my friends go. Now."

"Not this time." Slade nodded to the two men, who let go of Oliver's arms and left the room. "I got a deal for you. You beat me in a drag-down fight, I will let them go." He gave Oliver a self-satisfied smirk.

**AN: Sorry, it seemed to be the best place to make the cut, with how the rest of the story has been written. Thanks for reading! What else does Slade have in mind for Team Arrow? Can Oliver actually win in a fight with Slade? Please let me know what you think of the story. **


	5. Chapter 5: Battle Royale, part two

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters owned by CW, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**AN: I apologize for no AN before the last chapter. I was so excited to post the chapter I completely forgot to state my appreciation for all the reviews, favorites, and follows I have been getting for this story!**

**And to the guest reviewer(s): wish you could leave your name(s) so I can thank you individually. However, I do appreciate your kind words as well. **

**One more note. I had this written before the premiere of Season 3. Just saying, even though it is all totally AU anyway. No worry about spoilers, for those unable to see the premiere.**

Oliver looked down as if contemplating the offer, then in a lightning move, hit Slade full-on with a roadhouse kick, a few jabs in the throat, and several punches to the abdomen. He thought maybe he could take whatever advantage he could from a surprise attack.

Whatever advantage Oliver hoped to gain was short-lived. The two men battled, punches flying. Even though Slade had the mirakuru in him, Oliver almost made up for it with his advanced fighting skills. Almost. Oliver had beaten Slade the last time they had battled, but only barely, because of the explosion on the ship. However, this time there were no explosions to assist him with this fight.

Oliver knew Slade was attempting to maneuver him into a choke hold. Knowing this, Oliver attempted to avoid it, but finally, he became exhausted and lost his footing. Slade grabbed him from behind and began to choke him into unconsciousness. Oliver's vision slowly faded, as he heard Felicity's screams and pleas for Slade to stop. Slade only released his grip when he felt the younger man go limp in his hands.

Felicity and Diggle watched in horror as Slade dragged the unconscious Oliver toward the third set of manacles next to them on the wall. Slade dropped Oliver on the ground. He removed Oliver's hood/shirt and attached the manacles to Oliver's wrists. Unlike Felicity's and Diggle's manacles, his arms were extended over his head. With a self-satisfied smirk, Slade then left them without a word.

"Oliver, Oliver! Can you hear me?" Felicity cried out, fear coloring her inquiry despite herself. She desperately wanted not to show fear, but she could not hold it back. Oliver had taken such a beating at the hands of the super-strengthened Slade; he was now so silent, not moving. She worried about internal injuries.

No reply. Diggle was also concerned, but attempted to hide it. "Felicity, I am sure he is okay."

Slade returned with a pail of water and poured it over Oliver's head. Oliver woke up sputtering and raised his head to weakly look at Slade.

"Glad you are back, Oliver. Sorry I had to leave you for a moment, but had to check with my men I sent to the hospital. They informed me Sara has been taken care of."

Whatever color left in Oliver's face disappeared. "What do you mean by _taken care of_?" Images of Slade impaling his mother came unbidden to his mind.

"Nice try, Oliver, having extra security at the hospital for that worthless girl. However, my men were able to take care of them, quite easily, and visited Sara despite their efforts."

"Visited?" Oliver was able to hide his fear.

Slade paused dramatically and attempted to look sympathetic. "I hate to inform you Sara has now been taken care of. Permanently."

Felicity cried out, and Diggle took a deep breath. They both looked at Oliver, whose face wore an impassive mask.

"I have to leave again to take care of some things for the next act. I will be back. Don't miss me too much while I am gone." Slade left with what looked like a skip in his step.

Silence followed him for several minutes. Then Felicity spoke up.

"He's lying, Oliver. You.…you know he would not have killed Sara without you being there." Felicity said in a small voice. "Right? Sara can't be dead."

"I am not sure." Oliver lowered his head in defeat. "I am so sorry, guys. For getting you involved in this."

"Stop it, Man. Like we have told you before, we know the risks. And we will beat the odds again." Diggle reminded the younger man. "Don't let him get into your head."

The trio spent a moment in silence. Oliver then shook himself out of his dark thoughts, then he began his systematic investigation of his surroundings. He observed that the chains were secured to the wall above him, and had no give whatsoever. Unlike Merlyn's set-up, there was no way he could pull the chains out of the wall using his body weight. The room itself offered nothing to aid in their escape. No cots or chairs or any other furniture. Not finding any immediate answers to their predicament, Oliver turned his attention back to the other two.

"I didn't have the opportunity to ask before, but you both are okay?" Oliver asked his teammates.

"Yes, surprisingly enough, Slade has only been interested in playing mind games with us." Dig stated.

"And making bad jokes," Felicity added with an exaggerated look of disgust. Digg smiled at her in appreciation of her attempt at levity. "What can I say? The man has a terrible sense of humor."

"I am sorry you do not appreciate my jokes, Miss Smoak." Slade said as he entered the room. A chill went down Oliver's back as he observed Slade was carrying a long butcher knife.

He walked over to her, and cupped her cheek again in his large hand. "So beautiful. So innocent. I am so sorry I have to take away the love of your life."

Felicity shrugged out of his grasp. She was too scared to correct him on his mistaken notion of her and Oliver. She could only think about trying to talk the madman out of harming them. "You do not have to do any such thing. I could beg for his life, but I know that is pointless. You will do whatever you want to do. I feel sorry for you."

"Feel sorry? For me?"

"Yes, because you have such hatred in you, it has destroyed who you are. Whether it is the Mirakuru, or something else, it doesn't seem worth all the anguish to me. Letting your anger and hatred destroy everything good in you."

"Oh Felicity, perhaps if I had been lucky enough to have met a woman like you before I joined ASIS, we might not be here today." Slade shrugged his shoulders, drew his knife and held it up between them. "But I didn't" He suddenly moved closer to Felicity, leaned his left hand against the wall beside her, and with his right hand slashed the knife into Felicity's left side.

Oliver and Diggle yelled, and strained against the chains, but of course were unable to reach Felicity. Felicity looked down in alarm, prepared to see blood and guts, only to discover the knife had ripped out the outer seam of her shirt. No skin. She met Oliver's eyes in shock. "Guys, guys, I am okay."

She returned her gaze to Slade and attempted to slink away from him into the wall. He grabbed her by the chin. "I could so easily take your life right now. Let you bleed out in front of the worthless boy."

Felicity defiantly stared at him. She was tired. Tired of his many games, his blood thirst. However, as much as she wanted to say something, she kept silent, out of fear of what she might say that would further enrage the man.

"Slade, leave her alone," Oliver said through gritted teeth. His mind whirled in an attempt to figure out what he was to say in this little melodrama that could talk Slade down from this murderous plan of his. He was not too successful.

"And why should I do that? I told you one more should die." Slade turned to Felicity again. Felicity tried to shrink back from him, looking at the knife. She then looked at Slade. He had a look of blood lust in his eyes. Slade lightly traced her cheekbone with the side of the knife. "I so hate to mar such beauty, but oh, how I would love to hear Oliver yell again."

Felicity stilled her body to not move. She refused to give the man any further satisfaction. She lifted her chin slightly in a sign of defiance and looked Slade in the eye. Pulling together every ounce of courage, she stated, "You will not be doing anything of the sort."

"Are you so sure?" Slade lowered the knife and sliced off the top button of her shirt. "Maybe I should copy the cuts I gave Oliver on the island onto your beautiful skin?" He sliced off another button. "Force you to wear those scars as a remembrance of your suffering because of _that_ man."

"Do what you have to do. Just know no matter what you do, you cannot destroy this man. He has too much goodness and honor in him." The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. Oliver looked over at her in shock. _Even in a moment like this, how she manages to be so wonderful and supportive is beyond me. _Diggle gave a little shake of his head. _That's our Felicity_.

Slade gave a hearty laugh and walked away from the three. He turned back, looked at Oliver and shook his head. "How can a man like you bring out such loyalty?" Looking at Felicity, he continued. "You are quite remarkable, Ms. Smoak." Slade paused for effect, and walked back and forth in the small space of the room. "So remarkable, in fact, I have changed my mind."

Slade's three captives hardly breathed. What exactly Slade had changed his mind about, they could not guess. Not a word passed their lips; no one wanted to ruin any chance they may have, however slim, to escape death.

"You have such a spark, Ms. Smoak. How can I deny the world that goodness?" Turning to Diggle, he then said, "And who cannot admire the quiet strength of this man?" Slade walked away from them. "I have decided not to kill either of you…outright."

Slade looked at Oliver. "I first considered killing them, you know. Make you watch as I took their lives. Slowly. However, thinking it over, I've had a change of heart. They have won my admiration for their bravery and loyalty. Even if I cannot understand why they chose to sacrifice their lives for one such as you."

Diggle could not believe the evil mind games the man continued to play with them. He glanced at his young teammate, and observed Oliver continuing to wear his impassive mask. His only tell was the tick of the muscle in his jaw.

"I suppose this is where I ask, what then are you planning for them, Slade?" Oliver asked in a steady voice.

"First, I will make you suffer by having them watch as I filet you first then kill you slowly. I rather hate to put them through such an ordeal, but I want you to suffer knowing two of the most loyal people I know are watching you die."

A small gasp escaped Felicity's lips. She could not help it. Slade's grin became wider.

"And then I will leave them here, chained, with no one knowing they are here. Give them at least some chance of survival, if they are somehow found." Pause. "Most likely, they will instead die a slow, agonizing death from starvation and dehydration." Slade rubbed his palms together. "So Oliver, you can die knowing I am going to give them at least a chance to survive."

"And now I suppose you want me to ask, what about me?"

Walking to Oliver, Slade held up the knife. "Again, glad you asked. First, I will open up those old scars. Since this is a reunion, it is the least I can do. For Shado."

Knowing Slade was trying to bait him, Oliver refused to acknowledge it. Slade slowly traced the long scar down Oliver's toned abdomen with the tip of the knife, then over several smaller scars. "Then I will proceed to find new ways to make you bleed. It appears you have also acquired some new scars. It will be interesting the kind of patterns I will be able to make."

Oliver braced himself for the pain. He attempted to stifle the screams as Slade thrust the knife into his side, and then slowly began to slice open the first scar Wintergreen had given him years ago. Burning pain followed the cuts of the blade. Cut followed cut, some slow and agonizing, others short and fast.

Just when Oliver thought he was going to lose consciousness, just when Felicity believed she was going to lose it from watching the man she loved being sliced and diced by the insane idiot, the door slammed open. Two figures in black with cross-bows entered and hit Slade with a multitude of arrows.

Felicity began to cry in utter relief as Slade fell backwards away from Oliver. He landed on the floor with a dull thud. She then looked at their rescuers. One of them was Nyssa, Heir to the Demon. But it was the other woman who made her gasp. It was Sara! She was alive! They were joined shortly by two other men similarly dressed as Nyssa.

The two League members and Sara rushed to Oliver. Sara took her lock pick and unlocked his manacles while the two men supported Oliver. They lowered Oliver to the ground, and Sara assessed the wounds while Nyssa took the lock pick over to the other Team Arrow members.

"How were you able to take down Slade?" Diggle asked Nyssa as she unlocked his manacles.

"My father has been working on an antidote to what you call Mirakuru ever since Sara told him about Slade. He had finished work on it right before we got the news about Slade's attempts on your team. We loaded up arrows with the antidote and snake venom, and luckily they both worked on Slade."

"And Sara? Did you save her from Slade's men at the hospital?" Felicity asked as Nyssa released her.

"Yes, we were able to get there in time to prevent that tragedy. We then 'convinced' Slade's man to lie to his boss about not killing Sara."

They rushed to Oliver's side. "How is he, Sara?" Diggle asked.

Felicity did not like the grim look on Sara's face as she waited for Sara's answer.

**AN: How are my cliffhangers? Another 'guess I better end it here otherwise the chapter will be too long' ending. Ha. Hope you are still enjoying the story. Are you glad Sara is alive? Were you surprised? I was. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**


	6. Chapter 6: Resolution

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters owned by CW, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**AN: We are almost at the end of the story. Thank you to all you readers and reviewers! This has been my first multi-chapter fan fiction here. This story started as only a one-shot, but grew into a totally AU story, with encouragement from you readers. It has been fun. However, it has been more difficult than I would have thought to write AU, because certain details tried to sneak in that happened in later episodes. Sigh. So I hope I caught all possible mistakes. Thank you for all your encouragement in continuing this story. I really appreciate it!**

"He will live, but only if we get him to a hospital. Now. A few more minutes, and Slade would have finished him off." Sara told the group surrounding her and Oliver.

Sirens suddenly were heard coming from a distance. The four of them shared a glance. Diggle broke the silence. "Oliver must have called your father, Sara, and arranged a back-up plan." He began to pull Oliver's slacks off. "Take off Slade's slacks. We cannot allow Oliver to go to the hospital in his leathers."

In answer to Felicity's shocked look, Diggle shrugged. "Who cares what Slade wears as he goes to jail." As Felicity continued to question him, Diggle asked, "Well, does anyone else have any better suggestions?"

"Several of Slade's henchmen are right outside the room. I think you should take one of their slacks instead. I need to take Slade out of here now before the police arrive. I will bring him to A.R.G.U.S." Nyssa stated. "I spoke to Amanda before we got here and updated her. She has a very special place in mind for Slade."

Diggle agreed. Nyssa and her fellow soldiers left with the unconscious Slade, and Sara rushed to get the slacks from one of the other men. She and Diggle barely finished putting them on Oliver when emergency personnel entered with a stretcher. They loaded Oliver on the stretcher, and brought him out to the ambulance.

Detective Lance approached the group. "Glad the Arrow made the call to let us know what was happening here. Where is he, by the way?"

A nanosecond of shocked silence occurred between Felicity and Diggle, then Diggle stated, "After making sure this situation was handled, he left. He said he had something else to take care of."

_We really need to practice our on-the-spot lie telling. _Felicity thought to herself.

Lance nodded. "I will need your statements, Mr. Diggle and Ms. Smoak. We will need to know what Slade had against the three of you. But first I think you both need to go to the hospital and be checked out. " Both Digg and Felicity began to protest but stopped when Lance stared them down. "I absolutely refuse to take no for an answer. By the looks of things, you three have had quite the ordeal."

Diggle shrugged at Felicity, who shrugged back.

At the hospital, both of them were cleared. However, Oliver had not regained consciousness before going into surgery to repair the damage to his liver and spleen. Sara and Felicity sat anxiously in the waiting room, while Oliver was in surgery. The two women had persuaded Diggle to go home, and he reluctantly agreed. With the previous injuries, he wasn't quite feeling himself.

"As long as you let me know right away if anything changes, I will go home and rest. For now. I'm only a phone call away."

While they waited for news, Sara and Felicity shared what had happened when they were separated. Sara recounted in greater detail how, at the very nick of time, Nyssa had saved her from Slade's men.

Unknown to the Arrow team, word about Slade's recent attacks on the Arrow team had reached Nanda Parbat. Because she was concerned, Nyssa convinced her father it was in the League's best interest for Nyssa and a team to go to Starling City and help Team Arrow bring Slade down. Ra's reluctantly agreed.

"This hospital better improve their security, that is all I can say. Slade's men were able to knock out the security and enter my room unseen, again. I guess because of my head injury I wasn't quite as vigilant as I would have liked." Sara woke up as one of the men were attempting to smother her with a pillow. Nyssa had burst into her hospital room at that moment and knocked out the henchmen. Then, with A.R.G.U.S' help, Sara and Nyssa were able to track down Slade's whereabouts and rescued Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle.

After some additional small talk, Sara took a large breath. She felt she owed both of these people she considered to be friends a particular discussion. Even though it wouldn't be easy.

"So….now that Nyssa is back in town, she and I…."

Sara interrupted herself and turned to look at Felicity head-on. She took Felicity's hands in her own. "I want you to know, I care for Oliver deeply. He was the first guy I really had a crush on. Ever since I first saw him. But, what was first a childhood crush, was something comfortable we fell into after I returned. Familiar, comforting, but not love. Oliver and I, we are not meant for each other." She smiled at Felicity. "He loves someone else."

Felicity looked at Sara with wide eyes. "Yes, Laurel."

Sara shook her head. "You are too cute. No, not Laurel. Not anymore. How can everyone see it but the two of you? He loves _you_. You _are_ the only one who can truly bring him light into his darkness."

"Me? Geeky IT girl? I could wish and wish, but Sara, he does not feel the same way about me."

Sara let go of one of her hands to pat the other hand still in hers. "Think about it. Just think about it"

A nurse came over and informed them Oliver was out of surgery. "He will be in recovery for thirty minutes, and then moved to a room. You then can visit him one at a time."

"I tell you what, Felicity. I will go in first, just to say hi. I want to see how he is. If I thought I could, I would convince you to go home and sleep." She raised her hand to stop Felicity's barrage of wordspeak. "I know, I know. Like I said, if I thought I could, I would try. I will visit him first, and then I am going home to Nyssa."

When Oliver was in his room, Sara spent ten minutes visiting him, then she left. Felicity took her place at Oliver's bedside and watched him sleep. She contemplated what she and Sara had discussed. Could Oliver's feelings for her really be love? She thought back to their very first meeting with the bullet-ridden computer, to all the other times she helped him without knowing about his secret identity, to all their adventures once she had become part of the team. Up to this last one.

Slade's words came back to her. During his first attack: _"It revealed, instead of this one _(Sara)_, your love is this one instead _(pointing to Felicity)_." "She is rather lovely, _your_ Felicity."_

Then, when they were captured, _"So beautiful. So innocent. I am so sorry I have to take away the love of your life _(pointing to Oliver)_."_

What made Slade say such things? How could he think Oliver loved _her_? How could he know Felicity's feelings for Oliver when she had not been aware of them herself?

And was Sara correct? Did Oliver _really_ love her, not Sara, not Laurel?

Would she even want to be in a long-lasting relationship with such a man? Oliver was only the most obnoxious, stubborn, idiotic, man she had ever met. He also was the sweetest, most dependable, loyal, most admirable man she had ever known.

Felicity continued to sit beside the man she loved, taking comfort in the color returning to his cheeks, his respirations even and without pain, and he appeared to be sleeping comfortably. She did not realize it, but she finally fell asleep beside him, her head resting on the bed.

~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~

Ten hours later, Oliver stirred in the hospital bed. Even though he was recovering from being badly beaten and cut up, he had gotten a good rest. Knowing Slade was safely behind bars had allowed him to have the best sleep he's had in weeks. Before he could wonder why no one was in the room with him, he heard a familiar voice coming from the doorway.

"Up for some company?" Sara said, leaning into the room.

Oliver gave her a big smile. "I sure am. I'm kinda bored here. Contemplating an escape."

Sara shook her head. "Don't you even dare, Mr. Queen. You need to be fully recovered before you leave here. For once, you are getting medical treatment from licensed professionals." She brought over a chair to the bed and sat down. She took Oliver's hand, and squeezed it.

"I'm so glad Nyssa and I were able to stop Slade's onslaught on you. I would hate to have lost you."

An uncomfortable silence followed. "Sara, I…."

"I know. We had a good run, Oliver, but I think we both know our hearts belong to others."

"You and Nyssa?"

"Yes, and….you and Felicity."

Oliver looked down at their enjoined hands. "I don't think that's possible."

"Oliver, why'd you say that?" Sara shook her head at her clueless friend. "She only left your side an hour ago to get something to eat because Diggle threatened damage to her computers if she didn't go." Sara took a breath. "You must know how she feels about you."

"Why would she feel that way about me? Why should she? She probably only thinks she cares about me in that way. But…."

"Oliver, you owe it to both yourself and her to see where this could go."

"How safe would she be in a relationship with me?"

"How safe is she now? Don't you think those all are just excuses?"

"Perhaps. But it is how I feel. I really am scared about losing her."

"You could have lost her this time around, and you are not even in a relationship. Any one of us could die simply by walking across a street and getting hit by a bus. Or get a serous disease and die. Life is short, Oliver. You _deserve_ to be happy. And she makes you more happy than I have ever seen you."

Sara rose from her chair. "I better let you rest. Just think about it. You can let yourself be happy, you really can."

Oliver reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Thank you, Sara. For everything. Does this mean you will be leaving Starling with Nyssa?"

Sara sheepishly nodded. "Yes, it has been a nice visit, but I think I know where I belong. This time I freely choose to go back to the League."

"I thought you were tired of the life of an assassin, that you were not really meant for that kind of life?"

"I'm not really made for this kind of life either. I do appreciate all you have done for me, Oliver, but we both need others who understand us. And Nyssa understands the person I am now."

"You better stay in touch."

"I sure well. Otherwise, I think Felicity will come after me and yell at me in her scary voice." Sara smiled and left the room.

Oliver leaned back into the pillow. He suddenly was very tired. He certainly had a lot to think about. However, Sara was correct. He did love Sara, but he was not _in love _with her. But Felicity? He almost lost her how many times in the past forty-eight hours? And with her not knowing how he really felt about her. He suddenly felt like her not knowing how he felt about her would be the worst thing ever.

~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~OQ~FS~

Oliver stayed in the hospital for two days, two days more than Felicity thought he would. Well, really, the man was incorrigible. So she was very grateful when he did stay per medical advice. Well, kinda. The doctor really wanted him to stay one more day, but Oliver convinced him otherwise.

Felicity and Diggle assisted Oliver to the mansion, and to a downstairs guest bedroom. As Diggle made his goodbyes, Oliver looked at his good friends, and decided he could wait no longer.

"Felicity, can you stay for a minute? I would like to talk to you about something."

Diggle and Felicity exchanged looks. Felicity gave him a nod. Diggle gave her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder, and one to Oliver as he passed him by.

"Hey, man, let me know if you need anything, okay? Are you sure you don't want me to stay here overnight?"

"Yes, I am sure. I still got some staff here, so I am okay."

Felicity watched Diggle leave, then pulled up a chair up to the bed.

"Are you comfortable, Oliver? Do you need anything?" Felicity asked.

Oliver looked at _his girl._ He was amazed she did not know how absolutely wonderful she was. He had another moment of self-doubt as to whether he should proceed with what he had planned.

"I wanted to make sure you are okay, Felicity. It has been one hell of a week for you."

"Oh, Oliver, how can you ask when it was you who almost died?" Felicity smiled at him, shaking her head.

"About that. I am sorry you had to go through all that….."

"Oliver." Felicity's scary voice now appeared. "As I have told you _multiple _times, this is what we do. It is all a part of it, and we are _all_ aware of the danger. But once again we got through it."

"It made me realize something."

"What is that?"

"How I would not want anything to happen to you without you knowing what you mean to me. I…I…."

Felicity felt her stomach fall to her feet. Was Oliver actually going to say those words? She barely breathed as she waited, not wanting to scare Oliver off, as if he were a young deer in the woods.

Oliver shook himself, looked her straight in the eye, and said, "I love you, Felicity. Would you like to go on a date?"

"I think I really am wearing off on you," Felicity smiled. "I am sure you did not mean ask me out quite like that."

"Well, I know it is usually not recommended to tell a woman you loved her before going on a first date, but….well, it slipped out." Oliver took Felicity's hand. "I have never been so unsmooth in my life. I guess I don't want to be that playboy with you. You are not like any other woman I have ever known. I knew that, I think, from the moment I met you. You made me smile for the first time since I came back from the island. I will _never,_ can never forget that. You have brought me so much light in my life. I hope you are not scared by my 'I love you', but I do. I don't want to waste another minute in not saying it."

Felicity thought that must be the longest speech she had ever heard Oliver give in all the time she had known him. She was speechless. Oliver had just told her that he loved her. Her, the computer geek.

"Oliver, I love you too."

**AN: This ending came up suddenly. I apologize for not preparing you for it in the last chapter. However, it does feel like a good place to end this little adventure. I do thank all of you who have stayed with it, reviewed and followed it! Any last words would be appreciated! I may continue with an AU sequel, correcting the "errors" we have seen already in season 3. We shall see.**


End file.
